A video of a 12-year-old girl’s suicide which she recorded live on her mobile phone has gone viral, causing many people to call for action to remove the shocking footage online.
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Millions of people around the world have now seen the footage, which saw Katelyn Nicole Davis claim that she had been a victim of sexual abuse from a family member, before taking her own life. She used the livestreaming app Live.me to broadcast her death, which was then copied and is now being passed around online.
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The full 42 minute video of the girl preparing and then hanging herself was up on YouTube and Facebook for a few days before anything was done about it, and by then it was too late. Now many websites are still continuing to show the video, despite the horrific nature of its content.
The incident unfolded in Katelyn’s hometown in Cedartown, Georgia. After the police were tipped off, they arrived at the scene but she was announced dead on arrival. So tragic.
As said, there are calls to take the video down, but the police force currently have no legal powers to do so, although some websites have agreed to upon request.
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I think it really says something about the changing nature of communication and social media. We’ve now got kids who are able to almost promote their issues to a wider audience and unfortunately, incidents like this are just the tip of the iceberg on what’s to come. RIP Katelyn – hopefully she is at peace now.
If you’re feeling pretty down about this story (and rightly so), this doggy pool party might cheer you up a bit.
